Universal floatation child safety seat

ABSTRACT

There is provided a child safety seat and a child safety seat system that are adapted for use in automobiles, watercraft, and/or aircraft. The child safety seat is adapted to float in water such that a child secured in the safety seat is held completely or almost completely above the surface of the water. The child safety seat has a “self-righting” capability such that the seat will turn top-side up in water. The child safety seat has a handle that is integral to the self-righting capability of the child safety seat. In addition, the child safety seat system includes a base that may be used, in particular, in a watercraft and that is adapted to secure the child safety seat such that the child safety seat cannot be shifted horizontally, but can be moved vertically. Alternatively, the base may include a releasable locking assembly, particularly for use in automobiles or aircraft.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part application ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/535,476, filed on Mar. 24, 2000,which is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/167,468, filed Oct. 7,1998 (now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,360 onMay 9, 2000).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to seats for infants and children that maybe used in motor vehicles, aircraft, and watercraft. In particular, thisinvention relates to such seats that secure the infant or child forsafety and are also adapted to float upright in the water.

[0003] This invention further relates to seating systems for infants andchildren that may be used in motor vehicles, aircraft, and watercraft.In particular, this invention relates to a seating system that includesthe aforementioned floating seat, and a base adapted to accept the seatin such a way that the seat is laterally secured and vertically free.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Automotive safety seats are well-known in the art of protectionof a child from injury in the event of an impact and are mandated bylaw. A child automotive safety seat generally includes a rigid bucketseat with various types of protective padding. An undercarriageconnected to the bucket safety seat is secured to the motor vehicle bymeans of straps and quick release buckles connected to the surface ofthe vehicle. Other straps and quick release buckles connected to thebucket seat hold the child in the safety seat. Such motor vehicle safetyseats accommodate a range of ages of young children.

[0005] Life preserving devices for infants and young children on watercraft are considered by many experts in the field to be only marginallydependable. The smallest life preserver now approved by the U.S. CoastGuard for children over 20 to 22 lbs. is merely a smaller version of theadult life preserver with an extension of the preserver floatationmaterial from the shoulder area to the head area. The purpose of theextension is to provide additional floatation protection for a smallchild's head so as to keep it above the surface of the water and soprotect the child from intake of water. Such a safety device is usefulwhen the child is over 20 to 22 lbs. and can be placed in a standardautomotive child safety seat, but an older (over 30 lbs.) or more activechild is better cared for in a life jacket.

[0006] Complete protection of a child aboard a water craft, such as amotor boat or sail boat, as typical examples, would include both 1)protecting the child from being injured from shock during quickmovements of the boat in the case of movements in rough water, and 2)protecting the child from the water in the event of an emergency wherethe child enters the water, Protection of an adult or a child from quickmovements of the boat by various types of shock-absorbing seatingdevices on the boat including child safety seats are well-known.

[0007] Floatable safety seats for a child in a marine environment areknown. In particular, such a device is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,514,020 issued to Gainforth. The Gainforth buoyant child safety seatfor boats, however, cannot be transferred to a motor vehicle for thereason that the bottom of the described safety seat is provided withballast stands with ballast weights that prevent the safety seat frombeing placed upon and secured to the seat of a motor vehicle. Anotherfloatable safety seat for a child is described in U.S. Pat. No.4,725,253 issued to Politte. The Politte infant safety flotation seatdevice cannot be used in a motor vehicle since it cannot be placed uponand secured to the seat of a motor vehicle primarily because of metalweights, or ballast, near the bottom of the safety seat. Child safetyseats particularly intended for marine use have been described in priorart, such as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,709,648; 4,934,303; 5,119,754; and5,309,881; but none of the latter describe floatation capability.

[0008] Protection of a child from injury during rough water conditionsin a marine environment and protection of a child from injury in theevent of an impact in a motor vehicle are similar enough that the sameshock and cushion protection in accordance with mandated child motorvehicle safety seats will provide a child from sudden movement in amarine environment. Child safety seats for motor vehicles, however, aregenerally not provided with floatation material or ballast.

[0009] Child safety seats presently used for motor vehicles have supportstructures for the bucket seats and bases for the seats. One type ofsupport structure is a metal frame that includes bars made of a strongmetal such as steel that can be hollow tubular bars known in the art ofmetal structures. My U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/167,468entitled “Car/Boat Floatation Seat for Infants” described a child safetyseat that is made of such a support structure.

[0010] Another type of support structure for child safety seats formotor vehicles that is currently being marketed is made from a strongrigid molded plastic that meets the same safety requirements as metalsupport structures. The basic design structure of such molded plasticstructures vary widely. For example, one such design includes the bucketseat and the support base that rests upon the car seat being integraland secured to the car seat by belt attachment devices between the carstructure and the safety seat. Another basic design structure for moldedplastic safety seats includes a child bucket seat that is removablysecured to a base structure that is secured to the car structure by beltattachment devices so that the bucket seat can be unsnapped from thebase structure removed therefrom. Child safety seats made of moldedplastic material may not float in water, and may require more floatationmaterial to achieve a high freeboard, which is that distance between thewater level and the top of the sidewalls of the child safety seat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide achild safety seat that is usable both in an automotive environment andin a motor vehicle environment in accordance with mandated childautomotive safety seat standards and in a marine environment for shockprotection in both environments and for floatation protection of thechild after entry into the water in the marine environment.

[0012] It is also an object of the present invention to provide a quickrelease child safety seat for a motor vehicle as mandated by law that isalso usable in a marine environment for protection of a child from shockduring rough water encounters and for floatation protection of the childin case of an emergency entry into the water. The child safety seat iscapable of floating out of the support base in response to a risingwater level.

[0013] It is a further object of the present invention to provide asafety seat for a child in a marine environment that protects the childfrom shock during encounters with rough water and also providesfloatation protection for the child in the event of an emergency entryinto the water, the safety seat also being easily transportable andmountable to a seat or surface of a motor vehicle so that it providessafety protection for the child in accordance with mandated law forchild safety seats.

[0014] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide achild safety seat that is usable both in an automotive environment andin a motor vehicle environment in accordance with mandated childautomotive safety seat standards and in a marine environment for shockprotection in both environments and for floatation protection of thechild after entry into the water in the marine environment, the childsafety seat being of the type having a support frame made of moldedplastic material.

[0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide a childsafety seat adapted to float in water such that a child secured in thesafety seat is held completely or almost completely above the surfaceout of the water.

[0016] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a childsafety seat with a “self-righting” capability such that the seat willturn top side up in water.

[0017] In accordance with these and other objects that will becomeapparent in the course of this disclosure, there is provided a floatableautomotive/water craft child safety seat for holding a child weighinggenerally between birth and 30 or 40 pounds so that the child isprotected from injury in the event of sudden movements in both anautomotive environment and a marine environment. The floatable childsafety seat remains afloat in the water in the event of an emergency onboard a water craft so that the head of the child remains above waterlevel. The floatable child safety seat includes a safety seat that meetsautomotive code requirements for protecting children. The floatablechild safety seat includes a support frame holding the safety seat in agenerally upright position. The frame also defines a planar surface thatis compatible with placing the floatable child safety seat either on thesurface of a seat of a motor vehicle or on the surface of a water craft.A floatation structure is secured to the child safety seat so that thechild is maintained afloat in water so that the head of the child ispositioned above water level. The support frame acts as ballast formaintaining the child safety seat upright in water.

[0018] In addition to the steel frame type of child safety seatdescribed in my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/167,468, the currentmolded plastic seat devices that meet the safety standards for infantand child safety seats in motor vehicles are set forth and describedherein. Molded plastic seats have a marked advantage over steel frametype safety seats in relation to floatation features in that the plasticis much lighter than steel and in fact in themselves merely submerge inwater rather than sink. For this reason, the amount of floatationmaterial that is needed to maintain a molded plastic child safety seatin a floating situation when in water may be much reduced from thefloatation material required to maintain a steel frame type safety seatfloating in water depending upon the desired amount of freeboard.Specifically, the inventive features that enable child safety seats thatmeet mandated safety requirements for motor vehicles to be secured tothe deck of a boat or other water craft and that remains afloat in thewater in the event of an emergency so that the head of the child remainsabove water level differ from the features described in my U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/167,468. For example, surfaces are available onthe molded plastic child safety seats for placement of floatationmaterial that are not available on metal framed child safety seats.

[0019] One embodiment of the present invention set forth herein includesa molded plastic safety seat of the type having a bucket seat unitarywith a base structure. Another embodiment of the present invention setforth herein includes such a molded plastic safety seat of the typehaving a bucket seat that can be detached from the base structure. Alarge number of various designs of automotive child safety seats arepresently being marketed. The two embodiments child molded plasticsafety seats described herein are set forth as being merelyrepresentative of many designs of child molded plastic car safety seatsthat can be adapted so as to function as car/boat child floatation seatsthat meet the legal standards for both automotive and marineenvironments, so that the inventive features of the present inventiondescribed herein can be likewise used for any other type of moldedplastic child safety seat.

[0020] In addition, the present invention is also intended to meet therequirements for child safety seats for air travel, both for on boardflight safety and as floatation devices.

[0021] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, thereis provided a child safety seat and a child safety seat system that areadapted for use in automobiles, watercraft, and/or aircraft. The childsafety seat is adapted to float in water such that a child secured inthe safety seat is held completely or almost completely above thesurface of the water. The child safety seat has a “self-righting”capability such that the seat will turn top-side up in water. The childsafety seat has a handle that is integral to the self-rightingcapability of the child safety seat. In addition, the child safety seatsystem includes a support base for use in a watercraft that is adaptedto secure the child safety seat such that the child safety seat cannotbe shifted horizontally, but can be moved vertically. Another supportbase is also provided with a releasable locking assembly for use in anautomobile.

[0022] The present invention will be better understood and the objectsand important features, other than those specifically set forth above,will become apparent when consideration is given to the followingdetails and description, which when taken in conjunction with theannexed drawings, describes, illustrates, and shows preferredembodiments or modifications of the present invention and what ispresently considered and believed to be the best mode of practice in theprinciples thereof.

[0023] Other embodiments or modifications may be suggested to thosehaving the benefit of the teachings therein, and such other embodimentsor modifications are intended to be reserved especially as they fallwithin the scope and spirit of the subjoined claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the floatable motor vehicle/boatchild safety seat with a metal frame;

[0025]FIG. 2 is a side view taken through plane 2-2 in FIG. 1;

[0026]FIG. 3 is a top view taken through plane 3-3 in FIG. 1;

[0027]FIG. 4 is front view taken through plane 4-4 in FIG. 1;

[0028]FIG. 5 is a rear view taken through plane 5-5 in FIG. 1;

[0029]FIG. 6 is a side sectional view taken through line 6-6 in FIG. 3;

[0030]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the frame/ballast portion of thefloatable motor vehicle/boat child safety seat shown in FIG. 1;

[0031]FIG. 8 is a side view taken through plane 8-8 in FIG. 7;

[0032]FIG. 9 is a side view taken in isolation of the bucket seat of thefloatable motor vehicle/boat child safety seat shown in FIG. 1 withoptional floatation material secured to the bottom of the seat;

[0033]FIG. 10 is a front view of the bucket seat shown in FIG. 9;

[0034]FIG. 11 is a side view of the floatable motor vehicle/boat childsafety seat shown in FIG. 1 that indicates generally its position infresh water while empty and holding children of varying weights;

[0035]FIG. 12 is perspective view of another embodiment of a floatablemotor vehicle/boat child safety seat of the type made of molded plasticframe cradle integral with a molded plastic base and shown with aremovable cushion fitted over the cradle;

[0036]FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the child safety seat shown inFIG. 12 with the cushion and the safety belt removed with the moldedplastic frame cradle and the base shown in isolation;

[0037]FIG. 14 is a side elevational view taken through plane 14-14 inFIG. 13;

[0038]FIG. 15 is a side sectional view taken through plane 15-15 in FIG.13;

[0039]FIG. 16 is a rear elevational view taken through plane 16-16 inFIG. 13;

[0040]FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken through plane 17-17 in FIG. 13;

[0041]FIG. 18 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a floatablemotor vehicle/boat child safety seat of the type made of molded plasticframe cradle removably positioned on a molded plastic base and shownwith a removable cushion fitted over the cradle;

[0042]FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the child safety seat shown inFIG. 18 with the cushion removed with the molded plastic frame cradleand the base shown in isolation;

[0043]FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the child safety seat as shown inFIG. 19 with the cradle shown as being removed and vertically raisedfrom the base;

[0044]FIG. 21 is a side sectional view taken through plane 21-21 in FIG.20;

[0045]FIG. 22 is a rear elevational view taken through plane 22 takenthrough plane 22-22 in FIG. 21;

[0046]FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a cradle seat with floatationcylinders;

[0047]FIG. 24 is a sectional view of a floatation cylinder taken throughplane 24-24 of FIG. 23;

[0048]FIG. 24A is the floatation cylinder shown in FIG. 24 filled withfloatation material;

[0049]FIG. 25 is a sectional view of a floatation cylinder taken throughplane 25-25 of FIG. 23;

[0050]FIG. 25A is the floatation cylinder shown in FIG. 25 filled withfloatation material;

[0051]FIG. 26 is a sectional view taken of a floatation cylinder throughplane 26-26 of FIG. 23;

[0052]FIG. 26A is the floatation cylinder shown in FIG. 26 filled withfloatation material;

[0053]FIG. 27 is a right-side view of a third embodiment of a floatablemotor vehicle/boat child safety seat system according to the presentinvention showing the child safety seat in a rear-facing position;

[0054]FIG. 28 is a right-side view of the floatable motor vehicle/boatchild safety seat of FIG. 27;

[0055]FIG. 29 is a front-side view of the seat of FIG. 27;

[0056]FIG. 30 is a top view of the seat of FIG. 27;

[0057]FIG. 31 is a right-side cross-sectional view of the seat of FIG.27 along line 31-31 of FIG. 29;

[0058]FIG. 32 is a close-up perspective view of the bottom side of theseat of FIG. 27;

[0059]FIG. 33 illustrates the seat of FIG. 28 with a overlapping or“cris-crossed” 5-point harness;

[0060]FIG. 34 illustrates the seat of FIG. 28 with an alternative5-point harness;

[0061]FIG. 35 is a detail view of a safety tether for use with the seatof FIG. 28;

[0062]FIG. 36 is a right-side view of the seat of FIG. 27 secured in anautomobile seat using a safety belt and two safety tethers;

[0063]FIG. 37 is a left side view of the seat of FIG. 28 secured in anautomobile without the support base;

[0064]FIG. 38 is a right-side view of the seat of FIG. 28 secured in abase particularly adapted for use in a watercraft;

[0065]FIG. 39 is a right-side cross-sectional view of the seat and baseof FIG. 38;

[0066]FIG. 40 is a top view of the base of FIG. 38;

[0067]FIG. 41 is a right-side cross-sectional view of the base of FIG.38;

[0068]FIG. 42 is a front-side cross-sectional view of the base of FIG.38 along line 43-43 of FIG. 35; and

[0069]FIG. 43 is a detail view of a releasable locking assembly usefulfor securing the floating seat in the base.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0070] Reference is now made in detail to the drawings wherein the samenumerals refer to the same or similar elements throughout.

[0071] A floatable motor vehicle/boat child safety seat 10 showngenerally in FIG. 1 is usable in both a motor vehicle environment and amarine environment and includes a typical automotive child safety seat12 that meets the safety requirements for motor vehicles. The automotivechild safety seat 12 as shown herein is only one example of a number ofdesigns for child automotive safety seats and is described herein foronly for purposes of exposition. Automotive child safety seat 12includes a rigid bucket seat 14 that comprises a generally horizontalbucket seat bottom wall 16, a seat back wall 18, and opposed bucket seatupper side walls 20 that extend generally laterally from bottom wall 16and back wall 18 in a downward angled direction parallel to bucket seatback wall 18 and bucket seat lower side walls 21 that extend in agenerally horizontal direction parallel to bucket seat bottom wall 16.Back wall 18 is preferably slightly tilted rearward from the vertical.Typical child automotive safety seat 12 also includes a cushion 22 thatis contoured to fit over bucket seat 14 and is secured at bottom wall16, back wall 18 and upper and lower side walls 20 and 21. Cushion 22also includes head-protective side wings 24 that extend outwardly fromback wall 18. Automotive child safety seat 12 is for holding a youngchild and protecting the child from injury in the event of a suddenmovement or collision. Automotive child safety seat 12 also similarlyprotects a young child from sudden movements in a marine environment.Automotive child safety seat 12 includes a pair of shoulder safetystraps 26 secured to cushion 22 and removably connected to a crotchsafety buckle 28 in turn secured by a crotch safety strap 29 to cushion22.

[0072] Floatable child safety seat 10 includes a support frame 30 shownin isolation in FIGS. 7 and 8 that is secured in a manner known in theart to child safety seat 12. Support frame 30 includes parallel bottomside support bars 32 and parallel bottom front and rear support bars 34and 36, respectively, that together define a rectangular planar surface38 that is compatible with placing support frame 30 along with connectedchild safety seat 12 on a horizontal surface of a motor vehicle or awater craft.

[0073] Support frame 30 includes a pair of rearwardly angled sidesupport bars 40 connected generally midway to bottom side support bars32. Support frame 30 further includes a pair of parallel upper supportside bars 42 that are positioned horizontally and directly above bottomside support bars 32 and that are connected to a pair of parallelforwardly angled rear support bars 44 and a pair of parallel rearwardlyangled front support bars 46. Angled rear support bars 44 and angledfront support bars 46 in turn are connected to bottom side support bars32. Angled side support bars 40 are also connected to upper side supportbars 42. A pair of parallel vertical parallel support bars 48 areconnected to and extend vertically upward from connection to the rearend of upper side support bars 42 and are also connected to the top ofangled side support bars 40. A horizontal rear crossbar 50 is positionedforwardly and upwardly from and parallel to bottom rear support bar 36and is connected to the junctions of upper side support bars 42 andvertical support bars 48. A pair of parallel rearwardly angled uppersupport bars 52 are connected to the junction of angled side supportbars 40 and vertical support bars 48 with the rearward angle beinggreater than the rearward angle of angled side support bars 40. Ahorizontal upper rear crossbar 54 parallel to and spaced upwardly fromrear crossbar 50 is connected to the upper ends of rearwardly angledupper support bars 52.

[0074] As indicated in FIGS. 2 and 6, bucket seat 14 is secured tosupport frame 30. In particular, back wall 18 is in contact with andsecured in a manner known in the art to rearwardly angled side supportbars 40. In addition, bucket seat lower side walls 21 are in contactwith and secured in a manner known in the art to upper side support bars42. Bucket seat bottom wall 16 is positioned at the horizontal at adistance above and parallel to planar surface 38.

[0075] As shown in FIGS. 1-9 floatable child safety seat 10 includes aunitary generally U-shaped floatation structure 56 made of a materialthat provides buoyancy in water. Floatation structure 56 includes afloatation top portion 58 positioned generally horizontally along andconnected to the top side of bucket seat back wall 18, a pair ofdownwardly angled floatation side portions 60 secured in a manner knownin the art to bucket seat upper side walls 20 and a pair of floatationhorizontal side portions 62 secured in a manner known in the art tobucket seat lower side walls 21. Floatation structure 56 is secured tobucket seat 14 directly or is indirectly secured to bucket seat 14 byway of connection to support frame 30. Floatation structure 56 is madeof any suitable low density material, such as a low density plasticmaterial, such as a closed cell polyurethane foam material. Floatationstructure 56 is particularly situated and positioned so that floatationtop portion 58 is spaced rearwardly from the center of gravity 63 (FIGS.5 and 11) of floatable child safety seat 10 so as to provide anoutrigger-type lateral stability to floatable child safety seat 10 inwater. Floatation horizontal side portions 62 are equally spacedtransversely from the center of gravity 63 so as to provide anoutrigger-type lateral stability to floatable child safety seat 10 inwater.

[0076] Also as shown in FIGS. 1-9, floatable child safety seat 10further includes a rear cylindrical floatation structure 64 made of abuoyant material that is mounted around horizontal upper crossbar 54.Rear cylindrical floatation structure 64 is spaced farther from bucketseat back wall 18 and from the center of gravity 63 than floatation topportion 58 so as to provide further outrigger-type lateral stability tofloatable child safety seat 10 in water.

[0077] Floatable child safety seat 10 includes a ballast 66 coextensivewith support frame 30 as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 7 for maintainingchild safety seat 12 upright and improving the stability of floatablechild safety seat 10 in water. Support frame 30 can be made of a solidmetal to provide ballast 66. Alternatively, support frame 30 can be madeof a tubular metal and filled with metal shot to achieve ballast 66.

[0078] Floatable child safety seat 10 includes a ballast suitablydisposed below the safety seat's center of gravity, and attached to orcooperatively associated with support frame 30 for maintaining childsafety seat 12 upright and improving the stability of floatable childsafety seat 10 in water. Support frame 30 as best indicated in FIGS. 7-8can be made of any type of solid metal to provide ballast.Alternatively, support frame 30 can be made of a tubular metal andfilled with metal shot (not shown) to achieve ballast, or, if desired,solid, lead ballast(s) may be secured to one of more of the bottomsupport bars 32, 34 and 36 or to other sections of the frame.

[0079] Floatable child safety seat 10 includes a pair of triangularsecuring grips 68 defined by pair of angled side support bars 40, pairof upper side support bars 42 and pair of vertical support bars 48 thatprovide attaching areas for a removable strap or straps known in the art(not shown) that pass through grips 68 and that in turn are attached tothe surface of a motor vehicle or water craft so as to restrain themovements of floatable child safety seat 10.

[0080] An optional floatable armrest tray 70 shown in FIGS. 1-6 includesan outer protective layer 72 surrounding an inner floatable material 74.Armrest tray 70 is supported by an armrest support frame 76 shown inisolation in FIGS. 7 and 8 that includes a parallel pair of angledslightly upwardly armrest support bars 78 that are each connected ateach of their ends to angled side support bars 40. A cross-support bar80 is in turn connected to each of armrest support bars 78. Armrestsupport bars 78 and cross-support bar 80 extend through and supportinner floatable material 74. Floatable material 74 is made of anysuitable low density material, such as a low density plastic material,such as a closed cell polyurethane foam material.

[0081]FIGS. 9 and 10 show bucket seat 14 with added floatation material82 affixed in any of various manners known in the art, for example bygluing or by riveting, to the rear side of bucket seat bottom wall 16and the rear side of bucket seat back wall 18, in order to increase thefloatation capacity of floatable child safety seat 10.

[0082]FIG. 11 indicates various desirable and theoretically achievablepositions of floatable child safety seat 10 in water, for purposes ofexposition as fresh water, with various levels of immersion relative tothe surface of the water in accordance with the body weight of a childtherein and with no child. The exemplary body weights of the childrenare zero (safety seat being empty), 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 30 pounds, and40 pounds with associated chin levels of A, B, C, D, and E,respectively, relative to water levels shown as A1, B1, C1, D1, and E1,respectively.

[0083] Exemplary specifications for floatable child safety seat 10 areas follows: Floatable Carrier Dry Weights (in lbs., approximate) Totalcomponents dry weight 12 Molded seat with armrest tray, 2 liner, straps,and buckles Understructure frame 9.6 Floatation material 0.4

[0084] Ballast Contributions (in lbs.. approximate) Total components 9.5Understructure frame 9.4 Molded seat, tray shell, straps, etc 0.1

[0085] Floatation Contributions (in lbs., approximate) Total components4.1 Low density foam plastics 40 All other components (negligible) 1

Floatation Distribution (Approximate)

[0086] 50% forward and 50% aft of center of gravity. Virtually allfloatation is at the molded seat compartment perimeter with 40% of allfloatation centered within 4 inches of the fore and aft edges of themolded seat compartment.

Floatation Characters and Vertical Distribution (Approximate)

[0087] Submerged portions of infant body has natural buoyancy.

[0088] (One cc. of water or one cc. of body mass=one gram

[0089] (Specific Gravity=1.0)

[0090] Line A—(safety seat empty), 5,500 or 29% of floatation materialsubmerged, 71 % above water level.

[0091] Line B—(with 10 pound child, 50% of child submerged), 7,773c.c.s. or 41 % of floatation material submerged, 59% above water level.

[0092] Line C—(with 20 pound child, 55% of child submerged), 9,591c.c.s. or 50% of floatation material submerged, 50% above water level.

[0093] Line D—(with 30 pound child, FILL of child submerged), FILLc.c.s. or FILL of floatation material submerged, FILL % above waterlevel.

[0094] Line E—(with 40 pound child, 65% of child submerged), 11,864c.c.s. or 62% of floatation material submerged, 38% above water level.

[0095] Another universal floatable child safety seat 84 shown generallyin FIG. 12 is usable in a motor vehicle environment, a marineenvironment and an aircraft environment. Floatable child safety seat 84includes a typical child safety seat that meets the safety requirementsfor motor vehicles. The child safety seat 84 as shown herein is merelyone example of a number of designs for mostly molded-plastic typeautomotive child safety seats and is set forth herein only for purposesof exposition.

[0096] As best seen in FIG. 13, child safety seat 84 includes a rigidmolded upright plastic bucket seat, or cradle, 86, and a rectangularbase member 88 that is nonremovably secured to cradle 86. Cradle 86includes a generally horizontal cradle bottom wall 90, a cradle backwall 92 connected to bottom wall 90, opposed cradle upper side walls 94transversely connected to the sides of back wall 92 and opposed cradlelower side walls 96 continuously connected to upper side walls 94 andwhich are transversely connected to and extend upwardly from bottom wall90 in a generally horizontal direction along bottom wall 90. Back wall92 is slightly tilted rearwardly from the vertical. Typical floatablechild safety seat 84 also includes a cushion 98 that is contoured to fitover cradle 86 for protecting a child seated in cradle 86 from injury incombination with cradle 86 in the event of sudden movement or collision.Child safety seat 84 protects a young child from sudden movement both inan automotive and in a marine environment.

[0097] Child safety seat 84 includes an optional armrest 100 shown inFIG. 12 in a lowered position to provide an armrest for a child seatedin cradle 86. A pair of armrest support bars 101 connect armrest 100 toa pair of opposed horizontally aligned armrest shafts 102 transverselyand pivotally mounted to both cradle upper side walls 94. Armrest 100can be rotated between the lowered position shown in FIG. 12 to a raisedposition as shown in FIGS. 13, 14, 15 and 16.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 12, child safety seat 84 includes a pair ofshoulder straps 104 to be secured over the shoulders of the child seatedin cradle 86. Shoulder straps 104 are passed through one pair of threepairs of cushion apertures 106 shown in FIG. 12 aligned with three pairsof cradle apertures 108 in cradle back wall 92.as shown in FIG. 13.Shoulder straps 104 are connected to a crotch strap 110 that includesone strap portion 111 connected to the underside of armrest 100 and theother end having a crotch strap buckle 112 that can be removably securedto a snap-on connector (not shown) mounted to the top side of basemember 88 accessed at connector aperture 113 in bottom wall 90 alignedwith cushion aperture 113A. A release mechanism (not shown) for buckle112 positioned under cradle 86 can be activated by pressure upon arelease bar 114 at the front of cradle bottom wall 90 as shown in FIG.13, which can be accessed through cushion aperture 116. A locking strap118 is connected to crotch strap 106 as shown in FIG. 12 is removablysnap mounted by way of a snap-on buckle (not shown) to a permanentconnector 120 located on the underside of armrest 100 shown in FIG. 13.Shoulder straps 104 joined at a rear strap buckle 122 continue to therear side of cradle back wall 92 as seen in FIG. 16 and then continue asa single connecting strap 124 that extends downwardly along the rear ofcradle back wall 92 to the underside of cradle bottom wall 90 and thenforwardly between cradle bottom wall 90 and base member 88 and areconnected to the front of base member 88 at permanent connector 126(shown with a portion of connecting strap 124) as seen in FIG. 15.

[0099] Cradle 86 is rotatably mounted on base member 88 by a transverseshaft 128 connected to opposed low upwardly extending side walls 130 ofbase member 88 as best seen in FIGS. 12, 14 and 15. Base member 88defines a planar bottom surface 132 best seen in FIG. 15 that iscompatible with placing floatable child safety seat 84 either on thesurface of a seat of a motor vehicle or on the deck of a water craft oron a seat in the cabin of an aircraft all indicated as surface 134 inFIG. 12. Floatable child safety seat 84 is secured to surface 134 byforward securing strap 118 connected to base member 88 by snap-onconnector 138 seen in FIG. 12. Cradle 86 includes a pair of opposedcurved side supports 140 that are unitary with cradle bottom wall 90. Apair of vertical structural supports 142 unitary with the rear side ofcradle back wall 92 form a pair of elongated apertures 144 through whichsecuring straps (not shown) can be passed and further connected toconnectors (not shown) integral with surface 134.

[0100] Ballast 146 is connected to child safety seat 84 in order toprovide safety seat 84 with a center of gravity in water, and inparticular to provide cradle 86 with a center of gravity in water sothat a child in cradle 86 that is floating in water is maintained alongwith cradle 86 in an upright position. Ballast 146 for child safety seat84 is shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 as a rectangular structure attached inany manner known in the art to the top side of base member 88 at alocation at the midportion between cradle side walls 96 and generallyunder cradle back wall 92. Ballast 146 preferably comprises anon-corrosive material such a non-corrosive metal such as stainlesssteel. Ballast 146 can also be such material as lead such as molded leadconnected in a manner known in the art to any suitable portion of safetyseat 84. Lead shot can also be used as a ballast material.

[0101] Floatation material referred to generally herein as floatationmaterial 148A-E is secured to various areas of cradle 86 so as to createthe buoyancy to float child safety seat 84 in water in arrangement withballast 146 so that the head of a child positioned in cradle 86 ismaintained above water level in combination with the center of gravitycreated by ballast 146. Floatation material 148A-E is attached tovarious locations of cradle 86 as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 as follows:First, floatation material 148A is attached to the inner side of cradleback wall 92. Second, floatation material 148B is attached to the innerportions of cradle upper and lower side walls 94 and 96. Third,floatation material 148C is attached to the top side of cradle bottomwall 90. Fourth, floatation material 148D is positioned in upper andlower arm wall cavities 150 defined by cradle upper and lower moldedside walls 94 and 96 as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 with FIG. 17 beingrepresentative of both upper and lower side walls 94 and 96 mutatismutandis. Fifth, floatation material 148E is positioned in a pair ofvertical recesses 152 formed by buttresses 142. Sixth, armrest 100 isenclosed by floatation material 148F that is in turn enclosed by aprotective layer 154.

[0102] Floatation material 148A-E is a buoyant material, which ispreferably a low density material. One such low density material is aclosed cell polyurethane. Another such low density material ispolystyrene. Various types of buoyant material 148A-E can be used atvarious locations in accordance with various qualities of the buoyantmaterial.

[0103] Buoyancy of cradle 86 can be achieved by molding selectedportions of plastic cradle 158 to be hollow and so buoyant. As long asbuoyant characteristics of cradle 158 are achieved in arrangement withballast 214 so as to keep the head of the infant held in cradle 158above the water line when cradle 158 is in water, the overall inventiveaspect of the floatable child safety seat 156 is achieved.

[0104] The arrangement of ballast 146 and floatation material 148A-E isto achieve the general results shown in FIG. 11, which indicates variousdesirable and theoretically achievable positions of floatable childsafety seat 10 in water, for purposes of exposition as fresh water, withvarious levels of immersion relative to the surface of the water inaccordance with the body weight of a child therein and with no child.The exemplary body weights of the children are zero (safety seat beingempty), 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 30 pounds, and 40 pounds with associatedchin levels of A, B, C, D, and E, respectively, relative to water levelsshown as A1, B1, C1, D1, and E1, respectively.

[0105] Child safety seat 84 is of a type that is appropriate andsuitable for accommodation for a child in the general weight range of 40pounds. Child safety seat 84 can be secured to the base of a motorvehicle such as a seat of a motor vehicle, to the base of a top deck orunderdeck in a marine environment, to a seat in a marine environmentsuch as a motor boat, or to any base in an aircraft enviroment includinga floor or a seat therein.

[0106] Another universal floatable child safety seat 156 shown generallyin FIG. 18 is usable in a motor vehicle environment, a marineenvironment and an aircraft environment and meets the safetyrequirements for motor vehicles. Child safety seat 156 is appropriateand suitable for accommodation of an infant from birth to a weight ofapproximately 20 pounds. Child safety seat 156 as shown herein is merelyan example of a number of designs for mostly molded-plastic typeautomotive child safety seats and is set forth herein only for purposesof exposition.

[0107] As best seen in FIG. 19, child safety seat 156 shown in isolationincludes a rigid molded upright plastic bucket seat, or cradle, 158, anda base member 160 that is removably connected to cradle 158. Cradle 160includes a generally horizontal cradle bottom wall 162, a cradle backwall 164 connected to bottom wall 162, opposed cradle upper side walls166 transversely connected to the sides of back wall 164 and opposedcradle lower side walls 168 continuously connected to upper side walls166 and which are transversely connected to and extend upwardly frombottom wall 162 in a generally horizontal direction along bottom wall162. Cradle back wall 164 is slightly tilted rearwardly from thevertical. A pair of opposed cradle arced bottom flanges 169 seen inFIGS. 20 and 21 are connected to cradle bottom wall 162. Typicalfloatable child safety seat 156 also includes a cushion 170 that iscontoured to fit over cradle 158 for protecting an infant or childseated in cradle 158 from injury in combination with cradle 158 in theevent of sudden movement or collision. Child safety seat 156 protects ayoung child or infant from sudden movement both in an automotive and ina marine environment.

[0108] As shown in FIG. 18, child safety seat 156 includes a pair ofshoulder straps 172 to be secured over the shoulders of the child orinfant seated in cradle 158. Shoulder straps 172 are adjustably joinedat an strap clip 174 from where straps 172 continue downwardly as strapcrotch holders 176 to a snap-on clip 178 that is removably mountable toa clip holder 180 seen in FIG. 19 that is accessible through an aperture182 in cushion 170 seen in FIG. 18. Shoulder straps 172 pass through oneof a pair of upper apertures 186A defined in cradle back wall 164 asseen in FIG. 19. A pair of lower apertures 186B located below upperaccess apertures 186A for an alternate strap adjustment. Shoulder straps172 continue down the rear surface of cradle back wall 164 and areconnected to a cross-bar 173 mounted to the upper portion of cradle backwall 164 as seen in FIG. 22. Upper and lower access apertures 188A and188B defined at the rear of cushion 170 provide access for shoulderstraps 172 to upper and lower apertures 186 a and 186B.

[0109] A cradle handle 190 includes a pair of upright handle arms 192joined at the upper ends by a horizontal handle grip 194. The lower armends 196 are rotatably mounted to cradle upper side walls 166 attransverse shafts 198. Cradle handle 190 allows cradle 158 to be liftedfrom cradle base member 160 and transported with or without a child orinfant seated in cradle 158. Cradle handle 190 is rotatable forwardly asseen in FIG. 19 as cradle handle 190A shown in partial view in phantomline. Release buttons 198 are located at both shafts 198 that whenpressed inwardly, cradle handle 190 is released from a locking mechanism(not shown) of a kind known in the art mounted in base member 160 sothat handle 190 can be rotated to either an upper position or a lowerposition where handle 190 is automatically locked at the new position bythe locking mechanism.

[0110] As seen in FIGS. 18-22, base member 160 defines a planar bottomsurface 202 seen in FIG. 18 that extends between opposed upright basemember side walls 203 that is compatible with placing floatable childsafety seat 156 either on the seat of a motor vehicle or on the deck ofa water craft or on a seat in the cabin of an aircraft all indicated assurface 204 in FIG. 18. Removable cradle 158 is releasably secured tobase member 160 by a pair of inwardly extending spring-biased tabs 206(one of which is shown on FIGS. 19, 20 and 21) removably secured in apair of locking pockets 207. Tabs 206 are connected to the innersurfaces of base member side walls 203, and locking pockets arepositioned on the inner sides of opposed upstanding cradle lower sidewalls 168. Tabs 206 are drawn inward by operation of a pull handle 208mounted at front wall 209 connected to a slidable pull mechanism 210 ofa type known in the art (indicated generally in dashed line in FIG. 20)located under base member 160 as generally indicated in dashed line inFIG. 20. Operation of pull handle 208 connected to a attached to pullmechanism 210 that in turn draws a pair of bands connected to pulleys(neither shown) operatively connected to tabs 206 so as to drag tabs 206inwardly out of locked retention in locking pockets 207 into a biasedmode. Cradle 158 is then in a free mode to be separated from base member160 by lifting cradle handle 190. Tabs 206 self-bias back into theiroriginal position. Tabs 206 are tapered so that the during return ofcradle 158 to its locked position relative to base member 160, a portionof cradle 158 presses tabs 206 inwardly into a biased mode in a mannerknown in the art until cradle 158 is fully settled into base member 160at which position holding grips 206 are free to be self-biased back intoa non-biased locking mode relative to cradle 158. Other suitable lockingmechanisms known in the art can be used to releasably connect cradle 158to base member 160.

[0111] Child safety seat 156 is designed to be placed in a motor vehiclewith the child or infant therein in a rear facing position. Child safetyseat 156 is secured to surface 204 by a forward securing straps (notshown) passed through a pair of recesses formed by curved grips 212formed integrally with and extending laterally outwardly from theforward portion of cradle lower side walls 168 and that can receive atransverse securing strap (not shown) extending over cradle 158 and thatare in turn are removably secured in a manner known in the art to grips(not shown) associated with the surface 204 of a vehicle, boat oraircraft. Other suitable securing devices known in the art can be usedto removably connect base member 160, and thus child safety seat 156, toa vehicle, boat or aircraft.

[0112] Ballast 214 is connected to cradle 158 in order to provide cradlewith a center of gravity in water, and in particular to provide cradle158 in water so that an infant or child positioned in cradle 158 that isfloating in water is maintained in an upright position. Ballast 214 isshown in FIGS. 21 and 22 as a rectangular structure attached in anysuitable manner known in the art to the underside of cradle 158 inparticular to the underside of cradle bottom wall 162 at a location atthe midportion between cradle lower side walls 168. Ballast 214generally comprises a non-corrosive material such as a non-corrosivemetal such as stainless steel or lead. Ballast 214 preferably comprisesa non-corrosive material such a non-corrosive metal such as stainlesssteel. Ballast 214 can also be such material as lead such as molded leadconnected in a manner known in the art to any suitable portion of cradle158. Lead shot can also be used as a ballast material.

[0113] Floatation material referred to generally herein a floatationmaterial 216A-E is secured to various areas of cradle 158 so as tocreate the buoyancy to float cradle 158 in water in arrangement withballast 214 so that the head of an infant or child positioned in cradle158 is maintained above water level in combination with the center ofgravity created by ballast 214. Floatation material 216A-E is shownattached to various locations of cradle 158 as shown in FIGS. 19, 20, 21and 22 as follows: First, floatation material 216A is attached to theinner side of cradle back wall 164. Second, floatation material 216B isattached to the top side of cradle bottom wall 162. Third, floatationmaterial 216C is attached to the inner portions of cradle upper andlower side walls 166 and 168. Fourth, floatation material 216D isattached to the rear side of cradle back wall 164. Fifth, floatationmaterial 216E is attached to the outer side of cradle upper side walls166. Other floatation material can be attached to suitable areas ofcradle 158 in a manner known in the art.

[0114] Floatation material 216A-E is a buoyant material, which ispreferably a low density material. One such low density material is aclosed cell polyurethane. Another such low density material ispolystyrene. Various types of buoyant material 216A-E can be used atvarious locations in accordance with various qualities of the buoyantmaterial. Buoyancy of cradle 158 can be achieved in other ways. Forexample, buoyancy of cradle 158 can be achieved by molding selectedportions of plastic cradle 158 to be hollow and so buoyant. As long asbuoyant characteristics of cradle 158 are achieved in arrangement withballast 214 so as to keep the head of the infant held in cradle 158above the water line when cradle 158 is in water, the overall inventiveaspect of the floatable child safety seat 156 is achieved.

[0115] The arrangement of ballast 214 and floatation material 216A-E isto achieve the general results shown in FIG. 11, which indicates variousdesirable and theoretically achievable positions of floatable cradle 158in water, for purposes of exposition as fresh water, with various levelsof immersion relative to the surface of the water in accordance with thebody weight of a child therein and with no child. The exemplary bodyweights of the children are zero (safety seat being empty), 10 pounds,20 pounds, 30 pounds, and 40 pounds with associated chin levels of A, B,C, D, and E, respectively, relative to water levels shown as A1, B1, C1,D1, and E1, respectively.

[0116] Although the present invention as described in relation to theembodiment shown in FIGS. 12-22 has been described in some detail by wayof illustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding,it will, of course, be understood that various changes and modificationsmay be made in the form, details, and arrangements of the parts withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention. Both floatable child safetyseat 84 and floatable child safety seat 156 have been described hereinprimarily as associated with motor vehicles and water craft, both childsafety seat 84 and child safety seat 156 can be used in association withaircraft where both child safety seats would be placed upon a passengerseat of the aircraft in a manner analogous with placing the child safetyseats upon the front or rear seat of a motor vehicle. Child safety seat156 can be secured to the base of a motor vehicle such as a seat of amotor vehicle, to the base of a top deck or underdeck in a marineenvironment, to a seat in a marine environment such as a motor boat, orto any base in an aircraft enviroment including a floor or a seattherein.

[0117] Child safety seat 156 as presently used in motor vehiclesincludes cradle 158 and base member 160 being locked together in theevent of either sudden movement or a shock such as an accident. Whenchild safety seat 156 is secured to the deck of a water craft, or to theseat of a water craft such as a speedboat, it is possible that theperson with the infant positioned in cradle 158 would be unable toaccomplish the task of freeing the entire child safety seat 156 fromattachment to the water craft, generally by removing the securing strapsfrom connection with the securing grips on the water craft. It isparticularly advantageous to include a mechanism between cradle 158 andbase member 160 that would quickly release cradle 158 from base member160 upon child safety seat 156 being immersed in water. In particular,the entire pull mechanism 210 that is operable with biasable holdinggrips 206 would be further integrated with a material that would swellupon immersion with water so that holding grips 206 would be pressedapart into a biased mode so as to free cradle 158 from a lockedrelationship with base member 160 so that cradle 158 would float freefrom base member 160 in the water independent of any intervention by aperson who had been attendant on the child. Other suitablewater-activated release mechanisms associated with freeing cradle 158from base member 160 are, of course, possible.

[0118] A mostly plastic cradle 218 is shown in isolation is shown inFIGS. 23-26 where sealed portions of plastic cradle 218 form buoyanthollow compartments. Cradle 218 is generally analogous to cradles 86 and158 in that the buoyant compartments shown in FIGS. 23-26 can be used inarrangement with ballasts 146 and 214, for example, to achieve both thebuoyancy and the upright characteristics in water necessary to preservethe life of a child strapped in cradles 86 and 158.

[0119] Plastic cradle 218 includes a bottom wall 220 connected to agenerally upright rear wall 222 and opposed vertical lower side walls224 connected to bottom wall 220 and rear wall 222 and further includingopposed vertical upper side walls 226 connected to rear wall 222 and tolower side walls 224. An opposed pair of generally cylindrical sidemembers 228 are mounted to lower side walls 224 and extend generallyhorizontally therefrom. A pair of generally cylindrical lower side wallmembers 228 connected to the upper portions of lower side walls 224 andextending generally horizontal form hollow compartments 230. An opposedpair of generally cylindrical upper side wall members 232 connected toupper side walls 226 and extending generally vertical form hollowcompartments 234. A generally cylindrical rear wall member 236 connectedto the top of rear wall 222 and extending generally horizontal forms ahollow compartment 238. Hollow compartments 230, 234, and 238 arebuoyant in themselves so that, when so sized and arranged in relation toballast, such as ballasts 146 and 214 of child safety seats 84 and 156,can serve as floatation devices in themselves without the necessity ofadding floatation material, such as floatation material 148A-E and216A-E. Alternatively, floatation material such as floatation material148A-E and 216A-E can be used in addition to hollow compartments 230,234, and 238.

[0120]FIGS. 24A, 25A, and 26A show compartments 230, 234, and 238 eachfilled with a floatation material designated as floatation material230A, 234A and 236A. Such floatation material can be any buoyantfloatation material that is water repellent a closed cell polyurethane.Another such low density material is polystyrene. The purpose offloatation material 230A, 234A and 238A is to maintain the buoyancy ofcompartments 230, 234 and 238 in the event of a break in the plasticenclosure areas so as to allow the entry of water therein.

[0121] Referring to FIGS. 27 through 31, there is illustrated anotherembodiment of child safety seat and seating system according to thepresent invention, generally indicated as reference number 270. Seat 270has a bucket seat portion 274, a handle portion 276, and a base portion278. In addition, bucket seat portion 274 includes a notched segment oraperture 277 that is a part of the releasable latching system, describedhereinafter (see FIG. 37 and description, infra.).

[0122] Bucket seat portion 274 is the main structural component of seat270. Bucket seat portion has a seating area comprising a back surface271 and a seat surface 272. Peripheral side-walls 273 a, 273 b are onrespective side edges of the seating area. Back surface 271 is angledabout 90 to 95 degrees relative to seat surface 272. Back surface 271 isabout 22 inches long between seat surface 271 and the top edge 275 ofbucket seat portion 274. Side-walls 273 a, 273 b are no less than aboutfour inches high. Side-walls 273 a, 273 b are higher than those oftraditional child safety seats by about 2 inches in order to accommodateabout 2 inches of floatation material in the seating area of bucket seatportion 274. In addition, side-walls 273 a, 273 b extend beyond the edgeof seat surface 272 and, thus, form bumper portions 279 a, 279 b (seeFIG. 30) that protect the legs of a child in seat 270 from impacts.Bucket seat portion 274 preferably has drainage holes 290 in order thatwater caught in bucket seat portion 274 can drain out.

[0123] Bucket seat portion 274 is preferably injection molded andconstructed of a plastic material that is substantially rigid, partiallyelastomeric, temperature stable, sunlight resistant, ultraviolet lightresistant, and salt resistant. Bucket seat portion 274 should resistcracking and other detrimental changes in physical and/or chemicalcharacteristics when exposed to environmental factors normally presentin watercraft.

[0124] Handle 276 is also integral to the self-righting capability ofseat 270. The self-righting capability is not effected by the height orposition from which seat 270 is dropped. Seat 270 will self-right morequickly from higher distances and in more turbulent waters.

[0125] In addition, due to its larger horizontal surface area, handle276 functions as a shock absorber or impact reducer. In case of impactwith water, the speed of seat 270 hitting the water is reduced uponimpact with the water because the water surface becomes partiallydisplaced by handle 276. When seat 270 is used as a rear-facing carsafety seat, handle 276 may act as a bumper guard during a collision toprotect a child for impacting with the seat to which seat 270 issecured. If seat 270 is used as a front-facing car seat, handle 270 mayhelp prevent a child from being trapped or injured between the backseats and the front seats, which might become dislodged and forcedrearwards in a collision. If seat 270 is used in the front passengerseat (generally not recommended), handle 276 will act as a bumper guardagainst an air bag hitting the child's face (if seat 270 is facingfront) or as a bumper guard against an air bag forcing seat 270 againstthe back of the front seat to which it is secured. The possibility ofthese “rebound” injuries is also reduced when seat 270 is tethered tothe automobile with a tether assembly 420 (see FIGS. 34a, 34 b, and 35).

[0126] Moreover, as an aid in rescue at sea, handle 276 provides aneasily accessible structure that can be easily grasped by hand, with aboat hook, a gaff, or a similar device. Handle 270 may also be adaptedwith an emergency locator light, such as an IMO (“International MaritimeOrganization”) or SOLAS (“Safety of Life at Sea”) approved emergencylocator light. Light reflective material may be built into or coverhandle 270. In particular, for Type 1 International IMO and SOLASapproved models, handle 270 and/or the top surfaces of bucket seatportion 274 must be built with or covered by at least 32 square inchesof approved light reflective material.

[0127] Handle 276 is fixedly attached to bucket seat portion 274 sothat, when child safety seat 270 is placed on a level surface, handle276 has a vertical orientation, i.e., handle 276 is perpendicular to thelevel surface upon which child safety seat 270 is placed.

[0128] Handle 276 has a hollow interior that is filled with suitablefloatation material, such as lower density and/or closed celled foam.

[0129] Handle 276 is preferably a plastic material that is substantiallyrigid, partially elastomeric, temperature stable, sunlight resistant,ultraviolet light resistant, and salt resistant. Handle 276 ispreferably formed using injection molding techniques. In addition,handle 276 is preferably adapted to be highly visible. For example,handle 276 may be orange colored (particularly “International Orange”)or some other easily seen color.

[0130] Base portion 278 of seat 270 includes two rocker bars 279 a and279 b. Rocker bars 279 a, 279 b are preferably integrally molded on theunderside of bucket seat portion 274. Rocker bars 279 a, 279 b engagesupport base 320, as described hereinafter.

[0131] Rocker bars 279 a, 279 b have ballast weights 280 incorporatedtherein. The ballast weights insure that the majority of the weight ofseat 270 is below bucket seat portion 274. Thus, seat 270 has thecapability to self-right in the water. Seat 270 has the capability toself-right itself regardless of the orientation in which seat 270entered the water. The ballast weights may be any appropriate material,shape, and size.

[0132] In addition to ballast weights 280, rocker bars 279 a, 279 b alsohave flotation material 281 therein sufficient to float seat 270.Preferably, the flotation material provides sufficient buoyancy so thatseat 270 floats high in the water with a large proportion of freeboard.When a child is secured in seat 270 and seat 270 is floating in thewater, the child is preferably completely or almost completely out ofthe water. The freeboard helps to keep the child as dry as possible andout of cold water, which will dramatically reduce the effects ofhypothermia.

[0133] Between the floatation material 281 in rocker bars 279 a, 279 band the floatation material in the seating area of bucket seat portion274, the square inch per pound ration for floatation of seat 270 farsurpasses all the requirements of the United States Coast Guard andUnderwriters Laboratories. In addition, the floatation material in theseating area of bucket seat portion 274 far surpasses presentrequirements for automotive child seat padding from the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration.

[0134] Referring to FIGS. 32 and 33, seat 270 has a harness 400, whichis preferably a 5-point harness. Harness 400 has two body straps (401,402), a crotch strap 403, and a central guide member 405. Each bodystrap 401 and 402 has a fixed end permanently attached to seat 270 at aposition corresponding to the waist of a child in seat 270, and a freeend with the tongue or end fitting 407 adapted to be releasably engagedwith a latch or buckle 408. When harnessing a child therewith, bodystraps 401 and 402 initially extend from their fixed ends in a directionsubstantially towards each other (i.e., horizontally). Body straps 401and 402 subsequently pass through apertures 406 in central guide member405 that angle or change the direction of body straps 401 and 402 sothat body straps 401 and 402 extend upwardly or vertically, therebypassing over the chest and shoulders of the child in seat 270. In oneembodiment, body straps 401 and 402 cross each other, which eliminatesthe need for a chest buckle 411 (see FIG. 39). Body straps 401 and 402may be portions of a single elongated strap that wraps around the backof seat 270 and may be secured to seat 270 by any appropriate means,such as a bolt or adhesive. Crotch strap 403 is attached at one end tocentral guide member 405, and at the other end to seat the seat portionof seat 270 by an end fitting 409, which releasably engages latch 410that is disposed between the legs of a child in seat 270. A plurality oflatches or buckles 408 and 410 are provided in the back portion and seatportion, respectively. The selection of the latch 408 is dependent uponthe size of the child in seat 270, wherein, for larger children, ahigher and/or wider latch is selected. Thereby, no pre-adjustments ofstraps 401 and 402 are necessary before use, even if the child to beharnessed has never before been in seat 270.

[0135] Referring to FIG. 36, seat 270 has apertures 310 that are used tosecure seat 270 in an automobile without using a support base asdescribed in further detail below.

[0136] Referring to FIGS. 37 to 42, the system of the present inventionis the combination of seat 270 and a support base 320. Support base 320is fastened to a seat in an automobile, watercraft, or aircraft, usingany appropriate means, such as a seat belt or permanent fasteners. Seat270 is held by support base 320. As shown in the figures, support base320 is particularly adapted for use in watercraft. Nonetheless, supportbase 320 may be adapted for use in any type of vehicle. In addition,support base 320 is preferably adapted to be reversible, particularlywhen used in an automobile or airplane, namely to selectively supportseat 270 in the front-facing and rear-facing direction.

[0137] The system of the present invention includes a releasablelatching system that comprises a latch assembly 381 in the support base,and a notched segment 277 for receiving resilient hook 381, so that seat270 is snapped into support base 320. Latch assembly 381 comprises ahook 381. Hook 381 is attached to a cam 383 by a bar 382. Cam 383 has ahandle 385. Hook 381 is rounded on its upper side to allow seat 270 toeasily slide into support base 320. When seat 270 is fully set intosupport base 320, hook 381 locks into notched segment 277 and preventsseat 270 from being removed. To release seat 270, a user turns handle385, which rotates cam 383, resulting in hook 381 being pulled out ofnotched segment 277. In one embodiment of latch assembly 381, the handlemust be turn each time a user wants to unlatch seat 270 from supportbase 320. In an alternative embodiment, the user selectively opens andcloses latch assembly 381. The support base for use in watercraft doesnot include latch assembly 381.

[0138] For marine use, support base 320 has no latching system becauseseat 270 must be free to float out of support base 320 if the watercraftwere to sink. Nonetheless, seat 270 must be secure in the horizontalplane. Perferably, support base 320 is adapted such that seat 270 mustbe lifted about 3 to 4 inches before seat 270 can be moved laterally orsideways or removed from support base 320.

[0139] As stated above, in an emergency, seat 270 must be able to simplyfloat off support base 320 unaided, even if the watercraft is listing atan angle of 10° to 15° or more. Base 278 and notched segment 277 areadapted to engage support base 320 so that seat 270 will freely float upand away from support base 320 when the watercraft is sinking at anangle. In particular, as best illustrated in FIGS. 32 and 39, rockerbars 279 a, 279 b of seat 270 are suitably tapered so as to enable seat270 to float out of support base 320. In addition, notched segment 277is also preferably tapered wherein notched segment is wider at the topand narrower at the bottom. By tapering rocker bars 279 a, 279 b andnotched segment 277, seat 270 retains the capability of floating out ofsupport base 320 in response to a rising water level. The greater theangle of taper of rocker bars 279 a, 279 b and notched segment 277, themore seat 270 can list while maintaining the capability of floating freeof support base 320.

[0140] Although the present invention has been described in some detailby way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will, of course, be understood that various changesand modifications may be made in the form, details, and arrangements ofthe parts without departing from the scope of the invention set forth inthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A child safety seat, comprising, safety seatmeans for belting to a surface or seat of a motor vehicle, aircraft orboat and for holding a child so that the child is protected from injuryin the event of sudden movement in both an automotive environment and amarine or airplane environment including a safety strap for removablyholding the child to said safety seat means, said safety seat meansincluding a cradle and a base member removably secured to said cradle,said base member having a planar surface compatible with placing saidsafety seat means on the surface or seat of a motor vehicle, aircraft,or water craft with said base member belted thereto; non-corrosiveballast means connected to said safety seat means for providing saidcradle with a center of gravity, floatation means permanently secured tosaid cradle for floating same in water in arrangement with said ballastmeans so that the head of the child seated in said cradle is maintainedabove water level in combination with said ballast means, saidfloatation means including a floatation material made of a closed cellfoam buoyant material, and said floatation material being arranged inrelation with said ballast means so as to automatically self-right andmaintain said center of gravity in water, side arm bar means includingside support bars oriented lateral to said cradle of said safety seatmeans and cross bar means oriented transverse to and connected to saidside support bars, said floatation means including floatation materialsupported by at least said cross bar means, and said cradle includes aflat, planer seat bottom wall, a seat back wall connected to said seatbottom wall, and seat side walls connected to and extending verticallyfrom said seat back wall and said seat bottom wall, said floatationmaterial being secured to said seat bottom wall, said seat back wall andsaid seat side walls.
 2. The child safety seat of claim 1, wherein saidside arm bar means extend substantially vertically away from said cradleand said cross bar means is spaced apart from said cradle, and whereinsaid cross bar means is adapted as a handle and as a shock absorber orimpact reducer.
 3. The child safety seat of claim 2, wherein said crossbar means is adapted to partially displace water in case of impact withwater to reduce the speed of said cradle.
 4. The child safety seat ofclaim 2, wherein said cross bar means is adapted to be grasped by hand,with a boat hook, or a gaff.
 5. The child safety seat of claim 2,wherein said cross bar means is adapted with an emergency locator lightor light reflective material.
 6. The child safety seat of claim 1,wherein said buoyant material is a low density material.
 7. The childsafety seat of claim 1, wherein said non-corrosive ballast means is anon-corrosive metal material connected to said cradle.
 8. The childsafety seat of claim 1, wherein said non-corrosive ballast means isstainless steel.
 9. The child safety seat of claim 1, wherein saidnon-corrosive material is lead.
 10. The child safety seat of claim 1,wherein said base member includes means enabling the user to removablysecure said safety seat means to a car or air/marine craft seat by useof a seat belt.
 11. A child safety seat, comprising, safety seat meansfor belting to a seat of a motor vehicle or air/marine craft and forholding a child so that the child is protected from injury in the eventof sudden movement in both an automotive environment and an air/marineenvironment including strap means for removably holding the child tosaid safety seat means, said safety seat means including a cradle with aflat seat bottom wall, and a base member removably secured to saidcradle, said base member having a planar surface compatible with placingsaid safety seat means on the surface of a seat of a motor vehicle or onthe surface of a seat of an air/marine craft with said base memberbelted to said seat, non-corrosive ballast means connected to said basemember for providing said cradle with a center of gravity, andfloatation means secured to said cradle for floating same in water inarrangement with said ballast means so that the head of the child seatedin said cradle is maintained above water level in combination with saidballast means, said floatation means including a closed cell foamfloatation material made of a buoyant material, and said floatationmaterial being arranged with said ballast means so as to readily selfright and to maintain said center of gravity in said water.
 12. Thechild safety seat of claim 11, wherein said cradle further includes aseat back wall connected to said flat seat bottom wall, and seat sidewalls connected to and extending vertically from said seat back wall andsaid flat seat bottom wall, said floatation material being secured tosaid flat seat bottom wall, said seat back wall and said seat sidewalls.
 13. The child safety seat of claim 12, further comprising aharness for securing a child within said child safety seat.
 14. Thechild safety seat of claim 13, wherein said harness is a 5-pointharness.
 15. The child safety seat of claim 13, wherein said harness hastwo body straps, a crotch strap, and a central guide member, each bodystrap having a fixed end permanently attached to said child safety seatat a position corresponding to the waist of a child in said child safetyseat, and a free end with an end fitting adapted to be releasablyengaged with one of a plurality of latches in said seat back wall,wherein, when harnessing a child in said child safety seat, said bodystraps initially extend from their fixed ends in a directionsubstantially towards each other and subsequently pass through aperturesin said central guide member that change the direction of said bodystraps so that said body straps extend vertically and pass over thechest and shoulders of the child in said child safety seat.
 16. Thechild safety seat of claim 15, wherein said body straps cross eachother, thereby eliminating the need for a chest buckle.
 17. The childsafety seat of claim 13, wherein said crotch strap is adapted to bereleasably attached to the seat bottom wall.